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The final weekend of the Pac-12 regular season will determine both contestants in the conference championship game and affect the College Football Playoff race. That's good stuff. On to the picks: Friday's games Washington at Washington State, 1:30 p.m. MST, Fox The Apple Cup will decide the Pac-12 North champion and the game is meaningful to Utah fans, who need Washington to keep winning and make the Playoff. If the Huskies are in the CFP semifinals, that would elevate the Utes in the Pac-12 bowl structure. And if Utah beats Colorado, the Rose Bowl would remain a possibility. WSU quarterback Luke Falk, of Logan, missed last year's Apple Cup with a concussion and will have a lot to say about this year's outcome. This game should resemble the Cougars' visit to Colorado last week, when they played well for a long time but were overtaken by a more balanced team in the fourth quarter. Washington 31, Washington State 27. Arizona State at Arizona, 7:30 p.m. MST, ESPN The Territorial Cup represents ASU's last chance for bowl eligibility and the Wildcats' opportunity to salvage something from a horrible season. With a loss, Arizona would finish 0-9 in Pac-12 play. ASU is trying to avoid a sixth straight defeat after a 5-1 start. This might be one of those cases where two bad teams stage a good game. Arizona State 35, Arizona 28. Saturday's games Notre Dame at USC, 1:30 p.m. MST USC's being ranked only No. 12 in this week's CFP standings surprised me. The committee apparently is more concerned about an entire season's work than how a team is playing right now. In any case, USC holds some intrigue for Utah fans. The Trojans also will be watching the Utah-Colorado game closely, because a Ute victory sends USC into the Pac-12 title game. The USC-Notre Dame has nothing to do with the Pac-12 standings, obviously. But what if the Trojans lose? Could No. 22 Utah, which beat USC in September, catch the Trojans in the CFP standings and move into Rose Bowl consideration as a replacement for Washington? I would like to know. But the Trojans won't lose Saturday. USC 42, Notre Dame 28. Oregon at Oregon State, 2 p.m. MST, Pac-12 Networks The Ducks and Beavers have only seven wins between them, but each team has momentum going into the Civil War after impressive victories last week. OSU put up an unexpected fight last November in Eugene and is good enough to win in Corvallis, but the Ducks are revitalized after beating Utah on the road. Oregon 38, Oregon State 31. UCLA at California, 5 p.m. MST, ESPN2 UCLA runs for only 84 yards and per game; Cal's defense allows 290 rushing yards. The average of those two figures is 187 yards. So that's the number to monitor, beyond the final score. UCLA 35, California 31. Utah at Colorado, 5:30 p.m. MST, Fox Welcome to the Pac-12's best rivalry. Well, the new teams have staged the best series since the conference's expansion, with all five games decided by seven points or fewer. The only truly important game, prior to Saturday, came in 2011 when the Buffaloes kept Utah from appearing in the Pac-12 title game (with USC ineligible) via a 17-14 win at Rice-Eccles Stadium. In two trips to Boulder, the Utes have won via Reggie Dunn's kickoff return and Dominique Hatfield's interception return in fourth quarters. Is this the offense's turn? The real question is which team can regroup after emotional games last week, which actually is challenging for both Colorado after a win and Utah after a loss. And if the Utes win, would they overtake No. 9 Colorado in the CFP standings? Maybe. Utah 28, Colorado 24. Rice at Stanford, 6 p.m. MST, Pac-12 Networks All you need to know is Stanford's Christian McCaffrey will be running against one of the country's worst defenses. Stanford 45, Rice 21. – Kurt Kragthorpe